Clarinet key pad



Aug. 21, 1956 v. PAscUccx 2,759,386

CLARINET KEY PAD Filed April l5, 1953 INVENTR. @fa accc i;

WIA/m@ M a@ United States Patent Office Patented Aug. 21, 1956 CLARINET KEY PAD Vito= Pascucci, Kenosha, Wis.

Application April 13, 1953, Serial No. 348,505

Claims. (Cl. Sti-380) This invention is concerned generally with a clarinet, and more particularly with an improved key pad therefor.

Key pads in clarinets serve two separate, important, and distinct functions. The obvious function is that of providing a valve or seal for any of the various tone holes to cause the various tones of theiclarinet to sound. The second, and generally unobvious function, is to provide a refiecting surface or resonator for the sound waves as they emerge from the tone hole.

In order for the sound waves properly to impinge against a key pad to reflect and resonate efficiently to produce a desired tone, it is necessary for the pad to present a slightly concave surface for the sound waves to strike against.

In practice, the great majority of key pads are convex in configuration, partially due to the buckling of the backing material of the pad as the pad is compressed for insertion in a key cup, and partially due to the absorption of moisture and consequent swelling of the pad. Such a convex face of a key pad precludes proper resonance, thereby producing inferior musical tones. A convex pad further prevents proper sealing of a tone hole, thereby leading to spurious sounds and unsure operation, and requiring the musician to blow an undue amount of air through the clarinet.

An object of this invention to provide a new or irnproved clarinet key pad.

A further object of this invention is to provide a clarinet key pad which at all times presents a substantially concave surface for improved resonance and sealing, said pad being substantially incapable of buckling to a convex configuration during installation and being substantially unaffected by moisture absorption in use.

Yet another object of this invention is to` prov-ide a clarinet pad which is more securely mounted in a key cup than the pads now in general use in commerce.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view of a section of clarinet;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through one of the keys as taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a pad constructed in accordancel with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the backing portion of the pad; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the felt padding of the pad.

Referring first to Fig. l, there is shown a portion of a clarinet generally identified by the numeral and including the usual lower body portion 12 and bell 14. A plurality of keys 16, 18, and is mounted in the usual operative positions on the part of the lower body portion shown.

ne principles of my invention are equally applicable to all of the padded keys on a clarinet, and for purposes of illustration and key 16 is shown in Fig. 2. The key includes the usual key cup 22 and the improved pad 24 forming the subject matter of my invention. The pad, as shown in Figs. 2-5, includes a backing member comprising a ring 26 of cardboard or other suitable sheet material having a central opening 28. The upper edge of this opening is beveled as at 30.

A felt pad 32 is held against the under side of the ring 26 by a thin sheet or membrane 34 of the type generally used for covering the key pads of woodwind instruments, and preferably water resistant.

The membrane 34 as best may be seen in Figs. 2 and 3 is continuous and coversthe face of the felt pad 32, the edges of the felt pad and the ring 26, the back of the ring, and the beveled edge 30 thereof. The membrane 34 may be held in place by any suitable or convenient means including adhesive, or treatment of the edges of the membrane to cause it to shrink into place.

The pad 24 is held in place' in the key cup 22 by a blob 36 of any suitable or convenient adhesive. Shellac is often used for holding key pads in key cups, and the blob 36 illustrated may be shellac, although this particular substance is noted only by way of example, and is not to be construed as a limitation excluding other types of adhesives.

In pressing the usual key pad into a key cup, it tends to bulge outwardly to present a convex face which prevents proper sealing of the tone opening or hole, and provides poor resonance. With the key pad herein shown and described, pressure with the thumb on the center of the pad in inserting the pad causes the pad to bow inwardly as the felt pad 32 moves part way into the opening 28 in the ring 26. This causes the under side or face of the pad to assume a substantially concave configuration as shown in Fig. 2. This causes the pad to seat perfectly about the tone hole 38 to form a perfect seal preventing air leaks and spurious sounds. Of perhaps even greater importance is the fact that the con cave face affords perfect resonance and high quality musical sounds, as opposed to imperfect resonance and low quality sound often engendered by conventional key pads.

The adhesive 36 sticks to the fibers of the felt pad 32 and may penetrate a short distance into the felt pad to adhere more firmly than to the backing material of conventional key pads. As is well known, the usual adhesive materials used for holding clarinet key pads in the key cups tends to peel off the key pad backing to which it must adhere to maintain the pads in the cups. Furthermore, the large surface area for adhesion provided by the ring 28 covered by the membrane 34, the interior of the ring at the opening 28, and the exposed portion of the felt pad 32 affords more secure fastening of the key pad in the key cup then is possible with conventional key pads.

The initial depression of the felt pad 32 into the ring opening 2S and the `adherence of the adhesive 36 to the felt pad insures that the face of the pad will be concave throughout the life of the pad. Any moisture that may soak into the pad to cause the backing material to expand serves to increase the thickness of the ring 36 and hence to increase the concavity a slight bit, whereas in conventional key pads swelling of the backing material causes the pad to bow outwardly in a convex configuranon.

Various modifications of the illustrative example shown and described are possible and form a part of my invention insofar as they come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A key pad for Wind instruments comprising backing means having a central recess, a pad of felt on said backing material covering the opening of the central recess and adapted to extend into said recess to provide a concave face, and a covering of sheet material fitting over said felt pad.

2. A key pad for wind instruments comprising a backing member of sheet material having a central recess, a pad of felt covering said backing member and extending into said recess to provide a concave outer face, and a covering of sheet material tting adjacent said felt pad to provide a concave face.

3. A key pad for wind instruments comprising a backing member having a substantially flat face and a central opening extending from said face entirely through said member, a pad of substantially resilient compressible material on said face of said backing member and having a central portion adapted to extend at least part way into said opening to provide a concave face, and a covering of sheet material tting adjacent said resilient compressible pad.

4. A key pad for wind instruments comprising a ring, a pad of resilient compressible material covering said ring and extending into the central opening thereof to provide a concave face, an adhesive material Within the central opening of the ring maintaining the back of said resilient pad in xed space relation with said ring, and a covering of sheet material over the face of said resilient compressible pad.

5. A key pad for wind instruments comprising a ringlike backing member of sheet material having a substantially at face and a central opening extending from said face entirely through said member, the opening at the end opposite said face being flared outwardly, a pad of resilient compressible material covering said face and opening of said ring-like backing member and adapted to extend into the central opening to provide a concave face, and a membranous covering over said resilient compressible pad and said ring-like backing member, the edges of said membranous covering extending into the ared portion of the opening in said ring-like backing member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,401,872 Buescher Dec. 27, 1921 1,673,717 Stringeld June 12, 1928 1,702,962 Beuscher Feb. 19, 1929 1,786,833 Dytch Dec. 30, 1930 2,534,660 Collis Dec. 19, 1950 

